Amadeus
The movie Amadeus has given me great insight about the Enlightenment period. Amadeus was a film that was primarily focused on music, or more particularly Mozart, but one could learn a great deal about what life was like during this age in Europe by watching it. The clothing, manners, behaviour, society, government, and many other things presented throughout the film can teach one a lot about the culture and way of life.
First and foremost, it is definitely apparent that the culture of 18th to 19th century Europe was very different than it is now. People behaved much more elegantly, so to speak, than they do now. The language and gestures they used differ greatly from the modern way of communication. Their speech seemed much more formal and poised than our 21st century American language. One could infer that if someone back then was to act the way we do now, it would be considered disgraceful.
Along with that, their clothing styles were quite elaborate and ornate. The men had to wear intricately designed suits and women had to wear large voluptuous gowns. The dresses and suits both had many details in the stitching and fabric. I would assume that the more ornate a person’s clothing was, the more power they held in society. Therefore, clothing back then was not simply a way to “look nice” but to show people how much wealth or status you had. What’s also interesting is that the women’s gowns were long and never seemed to show their bare legs, judging from that, it was likely indecent for a woman to wear such dresses.
Lastly, the music in the film is what I think really represents the movie and the time period. Mozart was one of the first to make music so intricate and complex, which is one of the aspects that we find Mozart famous for today. However, in the movie we can see that the Emperor stated that one of the pieces had “too many notes”, countering Mozart’s style of music. Now, we are more aware of the supremacy of his music, which back then was not as
First and foremost, it is definitely apparent that the culture of 18th to 19th century Europe was very different than it is now. People behaved much more elegantly, so to speak, than they do now. The language and gestures they used differ greatly from the modern way of communication. Their speech seemed much more formal and poised than our 21st century American language. One could infer that if someone back then was to act the way we do now, it would be considered disgraceful.
Along with that, their clothing styles were quite elaborate and ornate. The men had to wear intricately designed suits and women had to wear large voluptuous gowns. The dresses and suits both had many details in the stitching and fabric. I would assume that the more ornate a person’s clothing was, the more power they held in society. Therefore, clothing back then was not simply a way to “look nice” but to show people how much wealth or status you had. What’s also interesting is that the women’s gowns were long and never seemed to show their bare legs, judging from that, it was likely indecent for a woman to wear such dresses.
Lastly, the music in the film is what I think really represents the movie and the time period. Mozart was one of the first to make music so intricate and complex, which is one of the aspects that we find Mozart famous for today. However, in the movie we can see that the Emperor stated that one of the pieces had “too many notes”, countering Mozart’s style of music. Now, we are more aware of the supremacy of his music, which back then was not as